by Paul Myerberg, USA TODAY Sports

by Paul Myerberg, USA TODAY Sports

Dragged through the mud during the season's opening month ‚?? 41 points to UCLA, 602 yards to Wyoming, 465 yards to South Dakota State ‚?? Nebraska's young and still-growing defense rebounded Saturday to allow only 17 points and 372 yards in a convincing 20-point win against Illinois.

It was the Big Ten opener for the Cornhuskers, who went 3-1 in September, and perhaps a sign of the defense's potential against similarly gifted offenses from Michigan and Northwestern during November's crunch run. The good news: Nebraska gets Purdue, an idle week and Minnesota before taking on the Wildcats on Nov. 2, so the Cornhuskers' defense could grow even further before the end of October.

Nebraska's defense was one of Saturday's big winners. Its offense, on the other hand, might have a brewing quarterback controversy: With Taylor Martinez sidelined, redshirt freshman Tommy Armstrong Jr. threw for 135 yards and two scores in helping lead Nebraska to 521 yards of offense.

Here are more winners and losers from Week 6 of the 2013 season:

WINNERS

Virginia Tech's ACC hopes: The Hokies have bounced back from a loss to Alabama and two sloppy non-conference wins to start 2-0 in the ACC. More importantly, the Hokies' two wins have come against Coastal Division foes North Carolina and Georgia Tech ‚?? giving Virginia Tech two potentially division-deciding head-to-head tiebreakers. What do the Hokies share with Texas A&M? Each has only one loss, to Alabama, and each, despite the one defeat, has a clear path to a Bowl Championship Series appearance.

Indiana: The Hoosiers' 44-24 win against Penn State marked its first win against the Nittany Lions, snapping a 16-game losing streak that began with Penn State's arrival in the Big Ten in 1993. It gets better: IU is now 3-2 with games against Minnesota, Illinois and Purdue to come. Could the Hoosiers reach the postseason?

Northern Illinois' BCS hopes: After going 4-0 in non-conference play, bookending the season's first month with wins against Big Ten foes Iowa and Purdue, the Huskies opened MAC play on the right note with a 38-24 victory at Kent State. NIU controls its own destiny, though it does need some help: Fresno State also moved to 5-0 with a 61-14 win against Idaho. With another banner performance, quarterback Jordan Lynch might take a step up the ladder in the Heisman race.

LOSERS

Kansas: It's now been 1,064 days since the Jayhawks' last Big 12 win. You'd have to go back 1,456 days to find KU's last win against a current member of the Big 12, since Colorado ‚?? the last Big 12 team to fall victim to Kansas, in 2010 ‚?? left the league to join the Pac-12 in 2011.

Maryland's national ranking: The Terrapins will struggle to regain a national ranking after Saturday's 63-0 loss to Florida State. But Maryland can still have a successful season in the win column, especially if it rebounds against Virginia and Wake Forest in advance of a date with Clemson on Oct. 26. Given what happened against FSU, the Terrapins might want to come in a little more under the radar against Tajh Boyd and the Tigers.

Georgia: The Bulldogs won the game, beating Tennessee 34-31 in overtime, but continued to struggle with injuries on the offensive side of the ball. In addition to wide receiver Malcolm Mitchell and running back Todd Gurley, already sidelined with various ailments, Georgia lost back Keith Marshall and receivers Michael Bennett and Justin Scott-Wesley during the first three quarters against the Volunteers. Can Georgia tread water with a depleted receiver corps and backfield? Having a senior quarterback like Aaron Murray under center helps, but Murray can't do it alone ‚?? Georgia might need some untested underclassmen to step up and lend a hand.

Northwestern's Rose Bowl hopes. The No. 15 Wildcats' 40-30 loss to No. 3 Ohio State virtually end the team's shot at the national championship, though such goals were unrealistic. More painfully, Northwestern's loss to Ohio State hurts its chances at a Rose Bowl berth. To earn a trip to Pasadena, Calif., on Jan. 1, NU must be no worse than 10-2 at the close of the regular season. With road trips to Wisconsin and Nebraska and home dates with Michigan and Michigan State to come, can the Wildcats survive the remainder of the regular season with only one loss? And if Northwestern does finish 10-2, 6-2 in the Big Ten? Then the Wildcats could earn a rematch with Ohio State in the conference title game ‚?? and win-and-you're-in game when it comes to the team's quest for the Rose Bowl.

Southern Miss: The losing streak continues for the Golden Eagles ‚?? and, adding insult to injury, loss No. 17 in a row came to woeful Florida International. Remember that FIU was 0-4, having lost to Maryland, Central Florida, Louisville and mighty Bethune-Cookman by the score of 187-23; This might have been the worst loss of all for Southern Miss, which last won a game in the 2011 Hawaii Bowl against Nevada.